"Long-term," to me, seems very neutral — descriptive without being prescriptive. It doesn't have the same sting of abnormalcy that "extended" does to me. It doesn't have, I think, the same potential as "full-term" to sound judgmental to women who choose not to or cannot breastfeed for a long time.

It's open ended, because it could apply to a 1-year-old same as an 11-year-old. There's no implied cut-off date beyond which breastfeeding is unacceptable or implied breastfeeding minimum before which weaning is unacceptable. It can be a goal for mothers to shoot for, but they can set the specifics themselves.

For instance, for a woman in a particular parenting culture where no one breastfeeds past six months, that might be the moment she identifies herself as a long-term breastfeeder. Or if the wider breastfeeding culture changes over time where it's expected that everyone breastfeed at least two years as the WHO recommends, then maybe eventually long-term will mean past that age!

I'm sure I'll still use "extended" and "full-term" and just plain "breastfeeding" casually, and I still love the camaraderie and meaning behind "full-term" and "child-led," but I'm thinking "long-term" might be a winner as my preferred way of referring to breastfeeding past infancy — toddlers or children.

And a huge thank you to everyone who commented and shared stories of breastfeeding successes and perceived breastfeeding failures. It might be natural to breastfeed, but it is not always easy, and I respect every mother who tries what she can and ultimately makes whatever is the right choice for her baby, herself, and her family.

I think it's just right. I'm interested to see what others think too...if there's a loop-hole that this term doesn't fill, someone's bound to let you know. I think it's great that you are even thinking about this breastfeeding issue. Thank you for your thoughtful approach to such a potentially touchy subject!

I think it's perfect! It doesn't have any of the negative connotations the other phrases do but is still descriptive. I think I'll describe myself as that too (so far I don't have any local friends who are mommies and my relatives didn't nurse or didn't nurse more than a couple months each, so they already think 7 months means I've been nursing a long time! )

I was anxiously waiting for your response the the great conversation you started on this, and was eager to see if you decided on anything. I actually think I may have used that term before without even thinking about it.

By the way, I was your 100th follower! I was excited about that but forgot to mention it.

You made me think, which do I like better? I usually call my breastfeeding extended breastfeeding. I just celebrated my 3 years/3 months/3 weeks/3 days anniversary of breastfeeding my little guy. But I think I actually like long-term better because extended sounds a little like it's beyond what's normal, and I want it to be perfectly normal for moms to breastfeed as long as they and their children desire.

I love it! I also, by the way, love your blog and the beautiful picture in this post. You have inspired me to take more pictures of my beautiful girl breastfeeding so I can remember this precious time.

I breast-fed two years long. To someone who didn't or shortly breast fed, that'll be longterm, to someone who did it 4 years (like a colleague of mine), it won't. I think the term "long-term" here ist like "beautiful": it's in the eye of the beholder.

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Riding the rails with my husband, Crackerdog Sam, and our hobo kids, Mikko Lint Picker (born June 2007), Alrik Irontrousers (born May 2011), and Karsten (born October 2014). Trying every day to parent intentionally and with grace.